Just off Montana Highway 83, the 42-acre Salmon Lake State Park was a gift of the Champion Timberlands Corp. to honor three foresters who died in a plane crash in 1976. A memorial plaque is near the park’s center.

The large day-use area has a swimming area and two docks, a nature trail, paved parking and picnic shelters. The beach is gravel.

Loons, osprey, great blue herons, red-necked grebes, bald eagles and other birds make the site worth a stop, and the fall colors are fantastic at their peak.

Fish in the lake and Clearwater River include rainbow, brown, bull and cutthroat trout, as well as whitefish, perch, northern pike, and, of course, kokanee salmon.

Near the main day-use area, the campground has a small day-use area.

Most weeks of the summer, the campground is full. Reservations may be made through the state park site, stateparks.mt.gov/camping/.

Western larch, ponderosa pine and Douglas fir lend their shade. The park’s 20 camp spots are paved and have electrical hookups, plus “all the good things people really want,” Richard said.

The showers are a dozen years old, but look new they’re so well cared for. The whole campground is well maintained and clean.

“It’s such a nice campground, quiet and family-friendly,” Richard said. “Until I was a host, I think we’d never known there was a campground here, but the word is getting out.”

Some campers use Salmon Lake as a base for hikes to Holland Falls or Morrell Falls. The Morrell Lake Trail is about two-miles long and a National Recreation Trail.

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In the summer, interpretive programs at the amphitheater featuring experts in wildlife, legends and other topics draw attendees from throughout the valley.

Nearby on a tributary of the Clearwater River, 31-acre Placid Lake State Park has a smaller boat launch and great beauty, even if it’s not always as still as its name suggests.

Among state parks of the Missoula area, this park had the highest visitation of the summer season at 40,100 visitors.

As Shirley and David Juhl launched their pontoon boat into water turned pink and orange by the setting sun, Shirley said the view of the Swan Range makes the lake especially beautiful.

The park has interpretive displays on early logging practices in the valley.

Placid Lake has 40 campsites, but they’re closed at the end of September. Salmon Lake’s campground is open through October.

Coming from Great Falls, follow Montana Route 200 past Lincoln toward Missoula until the Clearwater Junction. Turn right onto Montana Highway 83. About seven miles down the road, Salmon Lake State Park is on the left. The first entrance brings one to the large day-use area and the second to the campground and a small day-use area.

A few miles farther north on Highway 83, turn left/west on Placid Lake Road and follow it for three miles. Turns are well marked. The gravel road is well maintained and flanked by beautiful scenery.